Lament
by Reminiscent Lullaby
Summary: Everything she's lost has a name, and every truth she's been told has taught her one thing: In this world, you are your only savior.


**So, I went back and relived the Season 2 experience just when I had completely forgotten about the emotional ordeal it put me through, and thus, this came to be. I originally was just going to write out the song - in case you were wondering (but you probably weren't), I did write it - but I wanted to add something more (based off of MY preferred ending). I hope you enjoy, and remember to review! **

**Disclaimer: I bare no association or ownership to anything concerning The Walking Dead.**

My name is Clementine.

Maybe you've met me before, but I doubt it, because nearly everyone I've come across has perished at the malice of destiny.

Destiny...such a massive word, perhaps something more fitting would be inevitability.

Because we should face it, none of us are making it much further at this point.

_Before world's end we never knew it pains us so_  
_To be betrayed by trust itself_  
_Until we haven't got a choice, we'll never know_  
_If it hurts to live for something else_

Where do you stand at the moment? Are you traveling with a group? Do you trust them? Do they trust you? You know, that's such a funny concept to me, right about now. Not that there is anything wrong with trust, because we've all had different experiences in the unpredictability of this world, but if you know what I've gone through, maybe you would understand what I mean by that.

I have been on my own for seven winters.

I used to run with people, back when I thought I was safer with those I could rely on than alone, and it's easy for anyone to assume that it's true...but your obligation to protect, to lead, to follow...it can only go so far.

_What will it take to drive you down our one shared path?_  
_Will you see torment or feel numb?_  
_Suffering or ignorant to death's fierce wrath_  
_Unyeilding till all shall succumb?_

They've told me many things, my people. To hold on to hope, to keep the group together, to fix what is broken, to run, to fight, to save, to abandon...and it's all valid somehow. The things they would say when in friendly terms, or when at each other's throats; when in rare tranquility, or the heat of the moment, it all got through to me, and at times I would deny it, and others I would accept. Things were shifting constantly, and they'd have something to say about it.

_To leave behind another life  
When they've only done you good_

_It strikes a match on strong attachment  
You always knew it would_

These truths that I have been taught throughout my struggle, they would change between the different pairs of teeth that they slipped through, clashing as new wind with the stones already in your mind, and like erosion would break it down to pieces. New thoughts and new opinions, they would twist into existence from something that you already knew lived within you, or would break from the fabric of your mind as you were faced with new feelings, harsh or joyous.

_When her long shadows melt into the darkened Earth  
And the wind carries her vacant cries  
When our tears lament what fate has made of her name  
You shall leave us all behind  
You shall leave us all behind_

And I realized, you can either love, hate, or ignore everyone else in this world, no matter what they've done to you, because the cruelty of fate, and the instinct for survival turns every type of circumstance against you at one point, sooner or later, and thus justifies the action of every leader, healer, loner, fighter, _murderer_. How can you blame these people for doing what they do when you can't know for yourself if you'll do the same things? If life was innocent, then perhaps your beliefs would be stable.

_Enslaved by fear, in chains that hold us by the throat  
__And at the will of our remorse  
__Innocence forever hanged by bloody ropes  
__As we're pushed on by instinct's force_

_Run for cover from the others_  
_Who lost too much to fight_

_'Cause in this danger, human nature_  
_It burns in long lost light_

But it's not innocent anymore. It hasn't been innocent for years. Not for you, not for anyone. If you're hanging in the balance, then you haven't the right to think differently between the actions of another, because there is no way of knowing if you will turn down the same path.

You cannot feel, but you can always run.

_When his recent past make him question life's worth  
And the snow buries his fading bliss  
When our deeds lament what fate has made of his name  
You shall leave us all to die  
You shall leave us all to die_

There were questions I was asked constantly, by the tears that fell from my cheeks, by the effort I made to save those I cared about. Once, a long time ago, I believed I actually had a chance to keep them standing beside me, but it hit when I was still a child that I could try to break the spell...break the walls...break the ice, but deep inside I knew there was no longer hope for them. These questions had haunted me for a long time, before there was no longer anything in my life that was relevant. I suppose that was an answer in and of itself.

_Do you dare to make a friend  
__Do you dare to trust again  
__Along this road of crash and burn?_

_Do you dare to let them go  
__These people that you had held close  
__When you know they won't return?_

Some people will run miles to find safety, and harm others to find food. But I knew someone who once told me that the most important thing in this world is not something that you can just go in search for, and not something you can just kill for. Not something that can be found, and not something that can be lost, but something that each and every person wants, needs, and relies on, and I was told that that one thing was family.

He had said, "It's a tough world out there without people you can trust."

If that is true...then I have one question for _you_ to answer.

_Will you run without regret_  
_No matter friends, no matter debt_  
_When your life's all time will allow?_

_Will you fight till your last breath_  
_Within this world of years in death_  
_For you're your only savior now?_

_**You are your ONLY savior now!**_

I have learned that the hard way, and who knows, maybe you have too. Perhaps you, like myself, have already come to see the truth, and the window between you and reality has been cleaned by a vicious, raging rainstorm instead of your own bloodied hands.

Or perhaps I have left you an opening, a chance for you to spare all the tears, all of the heartache, and the price of trust.

You have to ask yourself exactly what it costs you to take the route of trust. You know what I've learned?

One way or another, it's going to lead you to the same place.

So how much are you willing to take before you accept the truth?

How far will you be carried before you finally head down the path that fate has laid out for us all?

How much do you think you can take, how much do you think you can _lose_?

_**Everything I've lost has a name.**_

Innocence is for Sarah.

Enthusiasm is for Duck.

Rationality is for Jane.

Loyalty is for Luke.

Identity is for Kenny.

And **_trust_** in its very essence...is for **_Lee_**.

**Short maybe, but thanks ****for reading! Remember to review!**

**Did my Luke bias show through? Yeah, it probably (obviously) did. XD**

**~Destiny**


End file.
